REVIEW: Far From Nothing – Reject [EP/2014]
Artist: Far From Nothing
Album: Reject – EP
Since the first day your cognitive ability has developed the capability to despise, you have done just that—constantly enraged by the society that surrounds you. Every place you go is filled with mindless drones and copy-paste shells of humans that inspire nothing but hatred in the deepest parts of your heart. Day after day, hour after hour it builds as every interaction you undergo with every person you encounter leaves you in a deeper state of loathing and contempt for humanity than you were before. The time has come for you to ostracize yourself from the nameless, faceless cringe-worthy clones that have become society’s status quo—the time has come for Far From Nothing’s sophomore EP, Reject. Driven by nothing but an unstoppable anger and an unquenchable thirst for violence, Reject is a sociopathic, misanthropic and misogynistic example of crushing, down-tempo heaviness done just right—making an EP that is indeed far from nothing.
Every aspect of Reject is simply soaked with dissonant, crushing heaviness that leaves the listener flattened against the pavement as though they were hit by a parade of steamrollers. From the first punishing, plodding blast beats of the introduction, Reject’s percussion is positively devastating. Scott Smith is sinister, straying away from speed in order to provide constantly crushing drum patterns that play to his low-tuned and resonant kit. Smith’s kick drum hits with a harder thud than a body being thrown off of a fifteen story building, and his cymbals are easily capable of cutting through even the most fraying and frantic fretwork Trey Guerrero and Nikko Garcia let loose with. “Martial Law” is a wonderful example—while Guerrero and Garcia slaughter the listener with groovy, raunchy riffs and cutthroat chugs, Smith’s percussion grinds what’s left of the listener’s bones into a fine dust. “3 AM” is another track that serves as a stellar testament to the band’s ability to create dense, destructive atmosphere as if it were second nature; the band starts at a snail’s pace and somehow gets even slower and sludgier, as Garcia and Guerrero’s guitars become long and drawn out, scraping across the listener’s skin like dull, rusty knives. All the while, Smith is doing what he does best—splashy cymbals and crushing percussion dotted with technically magnificent fills to keep the listener thoroughly immersed.
Even as intense and violent as Far From Nothing’s instrumentation is, the full extent of the band’s acidic, aggressive dynamic isn’t complete without the sheer terror incited by vocalist Daniel Dyches. Dyches is the very voice of destruction, letting loose pure havoc with howling, screeching screams and harsh, guttural low growls alike. What’s more are his lyrics: “Martial Law” is a harrowing, violent attack on society, while “Crooked Teeth” is one of the most poetic—and misogynistic—examples of hate-filled deathcore since Annotations of an Autopsy’s Welcome to Sludge City. Dyches’ dismal, throat-shredding shouts match perfectly with the lyrical intensity within “Crooked Teeth,” providing an entertaining, convincing and comprehensive vocal performance that is nothing short of awe-inspiring. While not every moment on Reject is quite as catchy and intense as the opening lyrics to “Crooked Teeth” and the visceral screams that convey them, every syllable of Reject is home to a riotous and raunchy vocal element that is always entertaining and fun.
From the first chug to the last fading crack of the snare, Reject is the very definition of hatred. Every second of Far From Nothing’s EP is severe, inflicting every sort of injury imaginable on the listener’s nubile ears. With breakdowns that liken themselves to Traitors’ tediously slow pace and crushing energy—and riff-led grooves that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Face Your Maker release, Reject has something for any fan of the relentlessly heavy. Not since Oceano’s Depths, nor Black Tongue’s Born Hanged has there been such an inclusive and comprehensive display of sheer brutality. Each syllable and section that Far From Nothing provide is a double-barreled shotgun packed with hate—and something is always in it’s crosshairs. Backstabbers, liars, cheaters and fakes—each and every one of them will find themselves facing Far From Nothing’s wrath; obliterated from the society that fuels the band’s endless engine of misanthropy.
By the hands of Far From Nothing, society as we know it will end. Reject is an objection to humanity as it exists today—a proposal for global cleansing—that will leave only fans of oppressively heavy, ignorantly brutal music in its wake. If you find yourself aligned with atrociously slow deathcore or anger in any manifestation, it would be a mistake to miss out on what Far From Nothing have cookin’.
9.5/10
For Fans Of: Traitors, Enastasia, Shivers, Demolisher, Thy Art is Murder
By: Connor Welsh
